


Internal/External Hurt

by Jathis



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Autism, Biting, Carlos is Autistic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fibro Cecil, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Native American Cecil, Overstimulation, POCecil, Self-Harm, Trans Carlos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 04:50:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5078446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos is having a hard time</p>
<p>Cecil is there for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Internal/External Hurt

**Author's Note:**

> Carlos does what I do when heavily overstimulated or upset; bites his hands and fingers.

He caught the action from the corner of his eye. Cecil made sure to keep his movements slow and steady, controlling the trembling in his hands as he opened a drawer in search of the thick gloves. The last time he had reacted poorly, Carlos had felt horrible for days afterwards and had kept his hands hidden in the pockets of his lab coat until the bite marks had healed, which had taken days.

Cecil found the gloves, sighing in relief when he saw that they were still sturdy and together from the last time Carlos had become horribly overstimulated and self-destructive. He looked up, barely restraining a flinch as he watched Carlos bite just below his thumb, his eyes focused on the wall in front of him as he struggled to breathe. “Carlos,” he whispered, touching the other's arm with the gloves. He held his breath when Carlos looked over at him but soon let it go when the other released his hand, gratefully taking the gloves from him with shaking hands.

He watched as Carlos slipped the gloves on with a small nod of his head. They were made from a strong and durable material, allowing Carlos to bite his hands and fingers as much as he wanted, without the risk of breaking the skin and drawing any blood. It allowed Carlos to continue to vent the way he wanted to, without the risk of causing any permanent damage to himself in the process, something that was important to the other. The webbing of his fingers still bore old scars from before the use of the gloves.

“Do you want to talk?” he gently asked once Carlos was finished, settling down into his chair and absently chewing on a thumb.

Carlos didn't know if he could tell Cecil what was wrong. Currently in his mind it felt like _everything_ was wrong but there was also a small part of him that knew this wasn't true at all. This part however was very small and he let out a soft whine as he felt his eyes start to burn with unshed tears. He pulled his hand from his mouth, wiping at his eyes with trembling hands as he struggled to steady himself. “No...” he mumbled.

“May I hold you?”

“No.”

Cecil nodded in understanding, keeping his hands on top of his cane to let Carlos see them and know that he would not be touched without permission. “Okay.”

“...Just stay with me?” Carlos pleaded.

“I can do that,” Cecil promised.

“I know this is stupid...”

“I don't think it's stupid.”

Carlos sighed, cracking his fingers now to try and steady himself. “I hate feeling like this. There's just...so many negative thoughts buzzing inside of my head like angry bees and I want and yet can't vocalize what's wrong. I hate this feeling.”

Cecil kept silent, allowing Carlos to vent as much as he needed to. The Voice simply waited for a sign that Carlos wanted some form of physical contact and he smiled a little when Carlos eventually held out a hand to him, taking it and giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. This seemed to help Carlos and his trembling soon started to subside, followed by silent tears rolling down his cheeks instead.

“Thank you for staying with me,” he whispered. “I've never had anyone stay with me during these.”

“I'll always be here for you,” Cecil warmly promised.

 


End file.
